Important Math Skills for Homeschoolers

TabletClass Math www.tabletclass.com complete courses in middle and high school math. Perfect for homeschoolers and those that want to learn math on their own. A great option for those that are using math u see saxon teaching textbooks aleks chalkdust thinkwell and other homeschool math courses.

The Basics Of Home Schooling

For many people, homeschooling may call to mind the picture of two or three children sitting at a table and writing feverishly in their workbooks, while mom or dad stands nearby. This is the not entirely true. There are different methods of homeschooling, and the method you choose will decide the curriculum and your style of teaching. Given below are some of the most influential and popular homeschooling methods.

The Charlotte Mason method:

Charlotte Mason is known as the founder of the homeschooling movement. A homeschooler herself, she was passionate in her zeal to lay out the foundations for an effective a complete homeschooling program that is fun and educational at the same time. This method focuses on all the core subjects with emphasis placed on classical literature, poetry, fine arts, classical music and craft. Mason used a variety of books from classical literature, which she called ‘Living Books’. Since this method encourages a passionate awareness of literature, the child is read to daily from the ‘Living Books’. After this, the child is asked to narrate what she has heard. This process begins at the age of six, and by ten the child is expected to write her narrations in her book. Mason also advocated the use of ‘Nature Diaries’. After each short and interesting lesson, the child is asked to go to Nature and draw observations from Nature. Thus the child also gains a sense of respect for her environment. Mason believed that development of good character and behavior was essential to the complete development of the child’s personality.

The Eclectic Homeschooling:

This is a mixture of various homeschooling techniques. Here, the innovative parents trust their own judgment and pick out the topics that make the best curriculum for their child. Such parents continuously look out for the best products that will meet the needs of their homeschoolers. Most Eclectic homeschooling curriculums are improvised. This means that the basic curriculum is ready-made. The parents then make changes in the curriculum to accommodate the individual needs and interests of their children. The child’s gifts, temperament, learning style and interests dictate the curriculum. Eclectic programs include visits to the museum, libraries and factories.

Unschooling:

A Boston public educator name John Holt laid the beginnings of the unschooling method. He believed that children learned best when they are free to learn at their own pace and when they are guided by their own interests. His message was to ‘unschool’ the child. This method is a hands-on approach to learning, where the parent takes definite cues from the children. There is no definite curriculum, schedules or materials. This method is the most unstructured of the various homeschooling techniques.

The Montessori Method:

This method began in Italy, when it was observed that children have acute sensitive periods, during which they undergo periods of intense concentration. During such phases, a child will repeat an activity till he gains a measure of self-satisfaction. The Montessori method depends on a prepared environment to facilitate learning. All the materials used in this method are designed to satisfy the inner desire for spiritual development of the child. The materials used progress from simple to complex, and are rather expensive.

These are just a few of the methods of homeschooling. Whatever the method, the underlying factor is flexibility and a keen interest in the desires of the child. The secret is to use the child’s desire for knowledge to further his education.

Homeschool Laws in the U.S.

Homeschool laws vary by state.  Some have few to no laws regarding homeschooling, and others are relatively strict.  If you’re going to homeschool your kids, it’s absolutely imeprative that you know the laws in your area.  If you don’t know the laws, you could end up getting charged with your child’s truancy, which can carry pretty hefty penalties.

You should check with your local Board of Education to find out the laws in your state.  They will have the most recent compliance guidelines, and laws can change from time to time.  You need to be sure you’re up to date on the most recent laws.  Remember, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

There are many resources available on the internet that will give you the basic guidelines of homeschool laws by state.  Personally I recommend making sure you get your information directly from your state’s website if that information is available online.  It’s better to get it straight from the source, where you know it should be up-to-date.

Don’t forget that many states have record-keeping and testing requirements that you need to comply with, in addition to their registration requirements.

Failure to comply usually just results in a warning, but you could be charged a fine for each child.  Some parents (mostly in countries outside the U.S.) have even faced jail time over child neglect charges, so you must keep appropriate records at all times!  I wouldn’t risk facing any kind of legal issues simply because you failed to keep adequate records and comply thoroughly with the law.

Introduction to Christian Homeschooling

This site is, generally, non-denominational.  In fact, the site is mostly focused on standard curriculum that isn’t focused on religion at all.  We have a separate section for Bible studies and Christian homeschooling, because there are many athiest and agnostic families who homeschool their children, and we don’t want to offend anyone.  But we do feel Christian homeschool deserves its own section for those parents who choose to raise their children in a religious home.

Homeschooling is often chosen by Christian parents who want to keep their children from being tainted by the children of parents who have a very different set of morals than they do.  It is indeed very difficult to send your child off to socialize with the children of parents who regularly swear, drink heavily, or let their children watch objectionable material that causes those children to learn unacceptable behavior.  And let’s face it, many parents today just don’t spend time teaching their children civilized values.  They let their children watch violent movies, and television shows where children regularly disrespect their parents and elders and laugh about it.

Even many athiest and agnostic parents are fed up with this!  Responsible parents of all types know that today’s school environment is not a healthy one.  Violence and shootings are becoming regular events, and drugs and teenage sex run rampant.

Making the choice to teach your children at home is rarely easy.  You may have to juggle things like work, church, errands, and other daily tasks around to make time to educate your children properly.  But as a Christian parent, you may feel you have no choice if you hope to keep your child from learning these unacceptable behaviors.

It’s important to remember to strike a balance between education and religion.  Many Christian homeschoolers are taught far more religion than other subjects, and their education ends up skewed or distorted.  While teaching the Bible is very important to Christian homeschoolers, you have to remember that your child still needs to be well-versed in all of the other subjects, as well.

You’ll also have to decide which subjects you want to teach as they are presented in traditional schools, and which ones you’d prefer to gear toward Christian values.  Will you teach creationism or evolution?  Will you give your children any type of sex eduation, or would you prefer to leave this out of the curriculum.  Fortunately you have the power to make these choices yourself as a homeschooling parent.  If you sent your child to a public or private school, your children would have to follow the curriculum they set.

It is your responsibility to provide your child with an adequate and thorough education.  Just remember to provide the right mix between religious and other subjects and you will be giving your child and excellent Christian foundation on which to base their lives.

Rancho Cucamonga Business Lawyer?s Top Ten Things Sarah Palin is Dreading to Hear

Here is Rancho Cucamonga Business Lawyer Sebastian Gibson’s Top Ten:

1. The GOP has chosen to endorse Joe the Plumber for 2012.

 

2. You’re over your limit at Saks Fifth Avenue.

 

3. Guess who’s pregnant, again?

 

4. The bridge to nowhere just failed.

 

5. It’s Playboy. They found some old pictures of you.

 

6. There’s fog. You can’t see Russia anymore.

 

7. The Alaskan Herald just called you a socialist.

 

8. Bill Clinton wants to know if you’re free Saturday night.

 

9. Someone else already has the trademark on “you betcha.”

 

10. The turkey growers federation wants to know if you want to pardon some more turkeys.

 

Now here is everything (well, almost everything) you need to know in business about environmental, international law, election and campaign law, consumer law, class actions, constitutional, internet, publishing, advertising, media, publicity and privacy rights, employment law, estate planning, wills, trusts, water law, agricultural, insurance law, bad faith, psychologist and psychotherapist defense, education law and child accidents.

You can also find all you need to know (well, mostly) in business about personal injury, car accidents, brain damage, wrongful deaths, business, real estate, landlord-tenant, homeowners association law, construction, patents, trademarks, corporations, entertainment law, advertising, copyrights, food and wine, and hotel and restaurant law and litigation by searching for those subjects and adding the words Rancho Cucamonga business lawyer or Rancho Cucamonga business attorney to your search terms and looking for other articles by Sebastian Gibson.

 

You can also learn more about any of these business areas of law and how we can assist you as Rancho Cucamonga business attorneys, or as lawyers in any city, by calling the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson at any of the numbers which can be found on our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  .

 

1. Environmental and Toxic Tort Law in Rancho Cucamonga - With multi-billion dollar energy companies spending more money to confuse the public on the threat posed by global warming than on research into alternative forms of energy, it will take all of us to sort fact from fiction and solve the growing problem of global warming. An additional danger to all of us comes from exposure to toxic materials in our daily lives from tainted food, to contaminated ground water, to dangerous viruses in the public and in hospitals to lead and mercury poisoning. If you experience unusual symptoms that a doctor can’t explain, you may have been exposed to a toxic substance and have a toxic tort claim that should be evaluated by us or another qualified Rancho Cucamonga environmental attorney.

 

2. Rancho Cucamonga International, Shipping and Maritime Law - A Rancho Cucamonga international attorney with years of international legal education and experience such as you’ll find at our Rancho Cucamonga law firm, can provide you with a wealth of practical knowledge and the ability to find answers to your international law questions. It is to your advantage to also have a Rancho Cucamonga international lawyer working in cooperation with foreign counsel in other jurisdictions to ensure that the most cost-effective avenues are pursued to resolve your legal matter. However, many international matters can be resolved with letters between Rancho Cucamonga international lawyers and foreign lawyers, and international mediations and arbitrations can also be utilized. If you have been injured on a ship or an oil rig you have rights under the Jones Act to be compensated for your injuries, medical treatment, past and future wage loss and care.

 

3. Rancho Cucamonga Election and Campaign Finance Law - If you are considering running for political office or have already done so and are facing campaign finance legal issues, the time to hire a Rancho Cucamonga election attorney with election law knowledge is at the first possible opportunity before you get into hot water that can sink your campaign or put your political career into jeopardy.

 

4. Rancho Cucamonga Consumer Law and Class Actions - If you have paid for an item but have not received it, been promised an action or service that has not come to fruition or are considering ordering services or signing any type of agreement, the time to hire a Rancho Cucamonga consumer lawyer is immediately in order to avoid being scammed, or defrauded. A Rancho Cucamonga consumer attorney’s letter drafted forcefully but professionally will obtain the desired result, products or services in a good percentage of cases. Whether you ordered gold bars but did not receive them, were told that your car would be paid off when you traded it in on a new one or were promised that a pool would be completed in your back yard, a Rancho Cucamonga consumer attorney can and should be hired for a modest fee to write a letter on your behalf and demand the required action, products or services. If you think you are just one of many who have been scammed or defrauded in some way, you may have a class action.

 

5. Constitutional, Publishing and Publicity and Privacy Rights, Internet Law, Advertising and Media Law in Rancho Cucamonga - Defamation includes both libel and slander. Anyone in the media or publishing or broadcast world or with a web site is at risk of a lawsuit for claims of defamation or false advertising However, constitutional law questions also arise in civil rights discrimination cases, discrimination in employment and a wide variety of other legal matters. If you have been disenfranchised or your constitutional rights abused in any matter or if you have been accused of abusing the rights of others, contact a Rancho Cucamonga constitutional lawyer as soon as it occurs. If others seek to profit with the use of your name or image you also have a claim for damages.

 

6. Employment Law in Rancho Cucamonga - It may seem silly to think you should hire a Rancho Cucamonga employment attorney whenever you are considering firing an employee, but it has come to that. However, a consultation with a good Rancho Cucamonga employment law firm can provide you with the advice of how to handle your employee relations both immediately and in the future as you either seek to cut costs or get rid of a problematic employee. If you have been sued or threatened with a suit, or are being scammed by an employee, consult a Rancho Cucamonga employment lawyer immediately.

 

7. Rancho Cucamonga Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts - The current estate tax in 2008 affects only people who die with an estate in excess of two million dollars. In 2009, that amount will increase to three and a half million dollars and in 2010, the estate tax is repealed. That’s the good news. If, however, the estate tax repeal is not extended by 2011, the estate tax will kick in again. The worse news is that in 2011, if the estate tax repeal is not extended, the estate tax will kick in at one million dollars. The current federal estate tax rate is a whopping 47 percent. That stays the same in 2009. But other current provisions in the tax code change or end in 2010. In light of this, it is more important than ever to hire a Rancho Cucamonga estate planning lawyer to draft your will and evaluate the need for a living trust to avoid probate fees ensure your estate goes to the beneficiaries you want it to go to. If you don’t have a will or trust at death, the state will determine who gets your estate, but it will usually be your spouse and children, of if you have none, your closest relatives.

 

8. Water, Agricultural and Natural Resource Law in Rancho Cucamonga - It is hoped by American farmers and meat producers that the new Country of Origin Labeling Law taking effect in groceries will cause food shoppers to seek meat and produce from the U.S. over food items from other countries. But it is the water shortage in California that has California farmers faced with dire consequences. In 2008, the California Governor formed a Water Bank to stave off mandatory water rationing, but if California has another dry winter, or more fires that draw upon California’s precious water reserves, or if the state legislature does not address the state’s delta environmental problems and expand the state’s water works, with a bill that has been tied up while the legislators haggled over a budget, rationing across the state could become a reality. If you have a water or agricultural issue, the time to call a Rancho Cucamonga agricultural lawyer with knowledge in this areas is before the issue becomes critical.

 

9. Insurance Law, Bad Faith, Psychologist, Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist Defense in Rancho Cucamonga - As insurance companies feel the pain of the stock market crash and face the reality of the value of their own investments decreasing, we expect to see insurance companies delaying settlements, and flirting with violations of the insurance bad faith statutes. As the public becomes more and more depressed with the sinking stock market, loss of jobs, reduced income and less enjoyment out of life, we also see the likelihood of greater use of psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists. When claims are made against these professionals without justification, our Rancho Cucamonga law firm stands ready to defend them

 

10. Rancho Cucamonga Education Law and Child Accidents - A recent court ruling in California has given temporary relief to parents homeschooling their children. However, we still expect further court rulings to make guidelines that will govern when or under what circumstances homeschooling of children will be permitted in California. Children, as any parent knows, can be injured any time, anywhere. What should not happen is any injury to a child that is the result of the negligence of another. To that end, our Rancho Cucamonga personal injury lawyers championed protection for children and convinced at least one court and encouraged other personal injury attorneys to do the same, to uphold a new tort for negligent endangerment of a child.

 

If you have a legal matter in Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside, San Bernardino, Moreno Valley, Fontana, Inland Empire, Rialto, Redlands, Hemet, Perris, Colton, San Bernardino County, Highland, Yucaipa, Banning, Riverside County, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead or anywhere in the Inland Empire, our Rancho Cucamonga law firm has the knowledge and resources to be your Rancho Cucamonga Lawyers and your Rancho Cucamonga Attorneys. Be sure to hire a Coachella Valley law firm with experience in Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Drownings, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries, Wrongful Death, Business, Real Estate and Landlord Tenant Law, Homeowner Association Law, Construction, Trademarks, Patents, Corporations, Entertainment, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media, and Copyright Law, and who will endeavor to ensure that your rights are properly represented.

 

Additionally, if you have a legal matter which involves Environmental and Toxic Tort Law, Litigation, International, Shipping and Maritime Law, Employment, Election and Campaign Finance Law, Consumer Law and Class Actions, Constitutional, Publishing, Publicity, Privacy Rights, Internet Law, Advertising and Media Law, Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law, Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Water, Agricultural and Natural Resource Law, Insurance Law, Bad Faith and Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist Defense, Education Law or a Child Accident in Rancho Cucamonga or anywhere in Southern California, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  and learn how a Rancho Cucamonga attorney from our offices can assist you.

Homeschool Record Keeping and Transcripts Are Critical For College Scholarships

Outstanding Homeschool Student Loses Out on Scholarship - No GPA - Parent Cries

Your child’s future and your financial future depend on how well you keep your homeschool records and transcripts. There is ongoing discussion in homeschool circles about the importance of maintaining records, grades and transcripts for each student.

Rather than tell you my opinion, I want to tell you a story …

Joel had been a homeschool student since kindergarten. He was an exceptional student, with a passion for learning, an incredible ability to reason, and a real gift for writing. Unfortunately, his parents had attended a homeschool convention when he was still in middle school and were informed that grades are not important on a homeschool transcript. In fact, “they could simply choose to use a pass/fail system” for his transcript rather than grading each assignment. That sounded so much easier than maintaining grades for their homeschooled children!

When they decided to homeschool without worrying about grades, they had no idea that grades are significant when it comes to scholarship funding!

When Joel graduated, he took the SATs and scored above the 97th percentile in English and 96th in Math. The college and universities were excited about enrolling him! In fact, they were willing to offer scholarship funding in order to spark his interest in their institution.

But they had one problem, the transcript . . .

Without a GPA, they were limited in the scholarship amount that they could offer. And without grades on the transcript, it was impossible to provide a GPA.

Did his lack of grades affect his ability to get into college?

No!

But, it was a huge factor in the cost that he would incur when he did attend college.

I met with Joel’s mom shortly after she heard the news. And do you know what she said?

”I wish I would have known how important grades would be when it came to scholarships.”

For this student, who was working with a homeschool evaluator and doing everything else by the book, records and transcripts become extremely important. Fortunately, because we had been working together from the beginning of Joel’s high school career, we were able to go back and provide grading for those homeschool assignments that I had reviewed over the years. Joel’s mom now understood the importance of grades on a transcript and I guarantee she will be grading tests and keeping records for her other homeschool students.

If you take nothing else home with you after reading this article, please remember this: colleges and universities rely on GPAs when it comes to scholarship funding for higher education. Therefore, your child’s eligibility for scholarships include a transcript with a GPA.

Joel is not the only homeschooler who has faced this difficulty with his homeschool records and transcript. I have worked with many homeschooling families in similar situations-some of whom have heard my exhortations about the importance of careful record keeping. However, they were also falsely informed that a transcript really does not matter. As a result many outstanding homeschool students with the potential for an impressive transcript lost the opportunity to capitalize on their academic accomplishments.

I don’t want you to find yourself in the same situation. If you are homeschooling or using a correspondence course, please put the time and energy into accurate records today to impact your child’s tomorrow. The amount of time it takes to keep records is nothing compared to the dollar amount a grant or scholarship can save you and your college student.

A Homeschool Story with a Much Better Outcome

Justin’s mother understood the importance of a homeschool transcript. As a result, she enrolled her son into a homeschool organization where he would receive a state recognized transcript upon graduation.

In addition, we began to keep a detailed transcript for Justin in ninth grade knowing that he would be a good candidate for scholarships. Not only did we include his academic achievement but his other homeschool accomplishments as well. He too was an impressive student, who not only excelled in academics, but also took advantage of many opportunities to pursue his interest in politics. As a result, we were able to place his internships and his training on Capital Hill to work for him on his transcript, even providing a grading scale for each.

Justin graduated with a 4.0 GPA and was a National Merit Scholar finalist. Armed with his transcript and other accomplishments, he received an offer for a full scholarship to Harvard and almost a free ride to Georgetown University.

Justin’s careful grading, record keeping and homeschool transcript complete with a GPA and credit for his many extra-curricular activities enabled him to receive the funding he needed to pursue his degree at Georgetown University via a scholarship.

I would have been heartbroken had this extremely impressive student and future leader not had the opportunity to pursue his dreams, especially if his only roadblock had been the lack of a transcript and GPA. With or without it, Justin has the makings of an incredible scholar and leader. However, the constraints of the system may have kept him from receiving the scholarship funding he so desperately needed if he had not had the grading and records to back him up.

There are many others like Joel and Justin out there whose accomplishments merit well deserved scholarships. Take the steps now, start keeping records and a transcript and ensure that your homeschooler can take advantage of the financial aid available.

Calculating Letter Grades/Grading a course

How to record grades for a homeschool transcript.

Record keeping for homeschool students does not have to be overwhelming. If you are using a standard curriculum that includes tests and evaluations, simply calculate a grade based on your student’s performance on those tests. Then, keep a notebook where you can record each test grade for each course. At the end of the year, you simply add up all test grades and divide by the total number of tests to determine the final grade for the course.

For example, Jennifer takes 6 tests throughout the school year scoring 95, 86, 93, 88, 92, and 95. When added together, these scores equal a total of 549. Divide 549 by the number of tests (in this case, 6) to calculate the average score-91.5%. This becomes Jennifer’s final grade for the course.

Calculating Weighted Grades

Adding Extras to a Homeschool Transcript.

Some homeschoolers choose to add projects or written assignments to the courses they offer and want to ensure that their student’s transcript reflects those efforts. No problem. Simply assign a grade to each project or assignment that you believe should impact the final outcome of the course. Then, determine if you want those grades to carry the same weight as the test portions of the course. If so, simply add all final grades together and divide by the total number of grades.

For example, if Jennifer’s homeschool supervisor assigned a major research paper and an oral presentation for the course above, she may want to incorporate those projects into Jennifer’s final grade.

Therefore, if she earned an A (or 95%) on her research paper and an A- (or 92%) on her oral presentation, she will add those grades in with her test scores for a total of 736. When you divide this number by the total number of grades (this time a total of 8 grades), Jennifer’s new overall course grade is now 92%

Homeschool Grading - More Complicated Method

Determining a final grade can become more complicated if you prefer to allow tests to carry more weight than projects or vice versa. If that is the case, let’s walk through that process.

First, determine the average of each set of grades using the formula above. For example, Jennifer has an average of 92.5% on her tests and 93.5% on her projects. Because of the work involved in her larger projects, Jennifer’s homeschool supervisor would like to weigh the projects more heavily than the tests. She therefore decides that the projects will make up 65% of Jennifer’s overall grade and the tests will make up the other 35%.

To calculate the final grade, she must first take the average earned on each portion of the course and multiply that average by the weight assigned to it.

In Jennifer’s case, she will multiply the test average of 92.5% by 35% for a total number of 32.37 points. She will then take the average score for the projects (93.5%) and multiply it by 65% for a total number of 60.77 points. When added together, Jennifer’s total percent score becomes 93.15%.

As you can see, the weight you assign to the various assignments within a course does impact the final grade.

Jennifer’s Grades-For non-weighted transcript (See fig 1 at http://www.homeschoolacademy.com/resource/homeschool-articles/grading/)

Final grade for course: 92% (B)

Jennifer’s Grades-For weighted transcript (fig 2 at http://www.homeschoolacademy.com/resource/homeschool-articles/grading/)

Final Grade for course: 93.14% (A)

Keeping it Real - Homeschool Wisdom

I do caution you to be realistic with your grades. A student who earns 100% on all assignments and tests will raise concern among college admissions counselors. Be careful to provide accurate records and award grades based on performance, not on a desire to skew the actual results.

In addition, to avoid the temptation to weigh one aspect of a course more heavily than others with the goal of raising a grade, determine how you will grade your homeschooler and the weights for each type of evaluation at the beginning of the year. Then be sure to inform your child, write it down, and stick to it.

If you prefer to use a letter grade system, simply define the range for each letter grade.

For example, an A+ might have a percent range of 97-100; A 95-97 and A- 93-96. Once defined, be sure to include that grading scale on your homeschooling documentation. This makes it easier for college admissions officers to see the performance of a student. In addition, a letter grade system makes it possible to determine the GPA for your student.

How to calculate your child’s GPA

Rather than provide a complicated method of determining a child’s GPA based on a grading scale that includes pluses and minuses, I will outline for you the easiest method of grading.

A GPA is calculated based on the number of quality points your child earns throughout his or her high school career. Quality points are awarded according to academic achievement, number of credits and your grading scale. The most basic method of assigning quality points is on an A, B, C, D grading scale, A=4 points, B=3 points, C=2 points, D=1 point:

So, if a student receives the following grades on his or her transcript in a given year, the GPA for that year is calculated based on the grading scale above and will look like this:

Quality Grading Table (See Fig 3 at http://www.homeschoolacademy.com/resource/homeschool-articles/grading/)

In some cases, courses are weighted more heavily based on the academic level. For instance, Bridgeway students are able to register for honors, AP, and college level courses that are weighted more heavily than others and therefore receive more quality points. If you are enrolled in a homeschool program, ask them about weighted courses.

If this all sounds overwhelming, there is help. Consider enrolling your student in a home school academy like Bridgeway Academy where your child will receive detailed record keeping, an accredited transcript complete with a GPA, a recognized private school diploma and expert guidance counseling to prepare your child for the college or university of choice.

Because your child’s future (and your financial future) depend on it!

Do You Qualify to Home School?

Making the decision to home school your child is not one particular to be taken lightly. If your kid has experienced the school technique, it may well be a hard transition but one particular that is still achievable. Keep in mind that the role of educating the child has always been the parent’s responsibility so you are competent to home school your child.

Numerous believe that in order to educate your kid a degree is needed but that is not true. The only requirement is patience and really like for your boy or girl. With adore and patience all else follows and the learning method will be a smooth path. As a parent, you know the abilities your youngster has and can develop a curriculum developed for their special needs. This in essence is ideal for your youngster instead of the cookie-cutter curriculum offered in the school method.

If you are contemplating homeschooling your kid you will want to be familiar with the requirements within your state. Every state has distinct requirements this kind of as having a licensed teacher evaluate your youngster at the end of the year as well as yearly scholastic aptitude testing. Some may well basically need a portfolio of what your little one has accomplished throughout the year. All the legal and state qualifications can be discovered on the net or by contacting the school system in your region.

It is crucial to prepare your paperwork and opt for a curriculum that will fit your family. You can either design your own curriculum or invest in a curriculum package. There are packages that are set up by grade, as nicely as Christian and secular dependent. A Christian curriculum will contain Bible studies as component of the curriculum and have a faith-based curriculum as a whole. A lot of of the packages will also contain grading providers this kind of as items required for recordkeeping, report cards and other providers.

Purely put, you are competent to home school your little one. Persistent parents who care for their youngsters are not intimidated by rules and regulations. The education and safety of your kid far exceeds the frustration that might be encountered.

If you believe you are prepared to make the leap to home schooling your children, you can come across more details about curriculum, resources, and lesson plans at Christian HomeSchooling.

The Legend of St. Valentine

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. We’ll be celebrating it on February 14. Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate God’s love for us. Christian homeschool students should reflect that perfect love in the love that they share with others. Many people practice the traditions of Valentine’s Day while giving little thought to the background and traditions of this storied holiday. Let’s take a closer look at the origins.

The holiday is named after one of several men who share the name and title St. Valentine. No one is quite sure why St. Valentine is linked to the modern holiday, but we have several theories. The Roman Catholic Church celebrated his martyrdom with the Feast of Saint Valentine. It has been hypothesized that St. Valentine defied an official decree in Ancient Rome by marrying couples during wartime. This would explain his associate with romantic love. Others believe that this is a fabrication used by greeting card manufacturers to get Americans to buy more products.

It is clear that February has been linked with love from very ancient civilizations such as the Greeks and Romans. Fertility festivals such as Lupercalia were celebrated during the month of February. This continued through the Middle Ages, when our modern idea of chivalric and romantic love thrived.

Because the links between St. Valentine and our modern American holiday are so unclear, many believe that Valentine’s Day is simply an excuse for confectioners, florists, and greeting card manufacturers to guilt people into buying gifts for their loved ones. This is partially true. A similar phenomenon occurred with the Christmas season. Many are unaware that Coca-Cola Christmas advertising did much to shape our popular perception of Santa Clause. Greeting card companies and others have done much the same with Cupid, little pink and red hearts, and more.